Bob's Beanfield

When we talk about Advent and Lent, we think of these two liturgical seasons as penitential. That's why we have the priests wearing purple, why our churches are decorated in a more subdued tone. Yet, they are both seasons of waiting and anticipating. We all could use a little more of the childlike anticipation of Christmas that children have. In today's readings, we get a sense of that anticipatio...

Today we begin Advent, our celebration of anticipation of the coming of Christ at Christmas. Dr. Kreeft points out to us that there are three times Christ has or will come….the first, 2000 years ago in Bethlehem, the third will be at the end of time, and the second is to us in the here and now. How do we anticipate all three of them? We talked a bit about the end times over the last few weeks of t...

Happy New Year!!! Today, we begin a new Liturgical Year, and with it we begin with a new cycle of readings for Sundays and Holy Days. To kick off the New Year, we'll listen to the introduction to Dr. Kreeft's book, "Food for the Soul", Reflections on the Mass Readings for Cycle C . If you're a long time listener, you may find that this year's introduction is the same or very similar to last year's...

Today is the last day of the Liturgical Year, and this is the last episode of this season of Bob's Beanfield. Next week, we'll begin a new cycle of readings, cycle C, which uses primarily readings from Luke. This past year, cycle B, has been mostly the Gospel of Mark. It is fitting that we close the year with this feast, where we acknowledge Jesus Christ as the King of the Universe. Have we truly...

It's hard to believe that this is the last Sunday in Ordinary Time for this year! Next week is the feast of Christ the King, then in two weeks, it is the first week of Advent! Where does the time go? I'm sure many of you wonder the same thing, and especially as we get older, time does seem to go faster. Sooner or later, time will run out. The readings for the next two weeks talk about that, but th...

Scholars talk about the various ways to read Scripture. There is a literal sense, an allegorical sense, etc. How do the realities and literal events point to deeper, spiritual truth? In today's readings, we'll hear some examples of these stories and learn some of their deeper meanings. Note that Scripture readings are from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of Ame...

Who is God? What is God? Deep questions, deep reflections. Every day as Christians, we pray the Our Father, because one of the answers to these questions is that God is Our Father. Jews pray the Shema daily, which reveals other truths about God. Let's hear these truths in today's readings and commentary. Note that Scripture readings are from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the U...

The idea of eternity is hard to understand. We live in time, so we tend to think of it as an unending progression of the days we now live. The Bible tells us that God lives outside of time, that all things are present to Him at once. How do we see that? Right now, in this life, are we blind to that reality? Can we ask God for our sight, to be able to see that? Let's hear about these topics in our...

Our faith and our Scripture are full of paradoxes. How can Jesus be both fully human and fully divine? How do we satisfy justice yet still show mercy? How can the last be first and the first be last? It takes a lot to understand these, and even the apostles didn't get it right at first. Yet we see so much symbolism in the stories of Jesus that it is impossible to deny the paradoxes are true. Let's...

Wisdom is a complicated thing. We have heard that God's foolishness, and of course foolishness is the opposite of wisdom, is wiser that the wisest of human wisdom. Yet God also tells us that if we desire wisdom, all we need do is ask. Let's ask for a taste of His wisdom today as we hear the Scriptures and commentary for today! Note that Scripture readings are from the Lectionary for Mass for Use i...

Today we learn about God's plan for human beings as Family. There seems to be a lot of confusion about what that means in secular society these days, but for thousands of years, human beings did not have the misunderstandings we seem to have today. What is God's plan, and His truth about family? Let's listen to the readings and commentary to find out! Note that Scripture readings are from the Lect...

How well do we really know ourselves? Do we sometimes try to ignore some of the deepest parts of our souls? We hear today about our "unknown faults"…if we don't know about them, how can they be faults or sins? And how does Jesus help us take care of them? Can we give them up to Him so that He can deal with them? We'll hear about this and other truths in today's Scripture and reflections! Note that...

We hear today about how wicked people will often try to corrupt good people, probably at least partially to help justify their own wickedness. We contrast that with the wisdom of God, both in terms of self-sacrifice and in humility. The teachings are rich today, so let's hear what God is trying to tell us! Note that Scripture readings are from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the...

Today's readings show great contrasts. We first hear of the suffering servant in Isaiah, then in the Gospel we hear Peter's proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah. It seems to us as humans, with our limited understanding, that suffering is bad, yet Jesus CHOSE to suffer for us, and as we hear, God brings good out of ALL things, including suffering, for those who love Him. Let's explore these thought...

We hear today one of the many times that the Scripture says "do not be afraid". In the context of the readings today, this is directed toward our needs. Do we need to be healed? Do we need forgiveness? Are we physically or spiritually blind or deaf? We can be confident that God can and will work miracles in our lives, so we need not fear. And those miracles point to Jesus, whom we meet again in th...

The readings today will all come before the single reflection, as they all relate to each other nicely. We are hearing about God's law, and man's law. We have spent a fair amount of our time in this podcast on studying God's law, and some also on keeping God's law. Today, we hear about how the two must go together; neither by itself is sufficient. Also today is one of my favorite Scripture passage...

Who do you serve? Who is the real boss of your life? Who is it that you turn to when things get hard? Do you find the easy answer and go the way of the majority, of the opinions and whims of the current social norms? Or do you follow the Lord, and like Peter, realize that He has the words of eternal life? Will we follow Him even when it seems hard? A lot of food for thought in today's readings! No...

Wisdom and Joy are the subjects of our readings today. Who doesn't want those? So how do we obtain wisdom, and from where do we get our joy? Of course, for Christians, the answer is from Jesus Christ himself. And He gives us Himself in the Eucharist, so we hear more of the Bread of Life discourse in John's Gospel today. The Eucharist should be the greatest source of joy imaginable, and to love it...

We continue to hear in our readings this week about bread. Many Catholics today have some doubts about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. We can take heart in knowing that even in Jesus' own time, people had a hard time understanding or believing what He was telling them. Let's take this opportunity to hear more from Scripture about the Bread of Life, as well as the Incarnation, and how...

Last week we heard a lot about food. This week, Scripture takes us further, deeper in to the Spiritual Food that we touched on last week. Part of the Bread of Life discourse is today's Gospel, and other readings refer to it as well. Let's pray that Jesus' words sink deeply in to our souls today! Note that Scripture readings are from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United Sta...

Are you hungry right now? Is it meal time, or near meal time? Today we hear stories about food. Elisha and Jesus both multiplying small amounts of food to feed large numbers of people, though Jesus' miracle far eclipses that of Elisha. But miracles are meant to point beyond themselves. What is it we are to learn from these examples? How do we apply them in our lives? Note that Scripture readings a...

It's no secret that the world today is very divided. We tend to think of ourselves as Catholic or Protestant, Conservative or Liberal, and we often emphasize our differences. The readings today call us to be more self giving in love, and call us to reach to God as our primary focus, not our secular identity. This is not new. Back in the early Church there were divisions between Jew and Gentile, fr...

Do you know that God has called you? Every one of us is called for something specific, something no one else is called to. Have we heard that call? Are we following it? And whether we are or not, has it made our lives more challenging? We hear today about an Old Testament Prophet who was called and was persecuted. We also hear about the call of Jesus to His Disciples and to St. Paul, and what that...

Do you have something in your life that you consider a thorn in your side? Or perhaps someone? Do you complain about it? Perhaps you've asked the Lord to deal with it for you. Have you ever thought about thanking God for it? Today we hear about St. Paul's thorn in his side, and we also hear about some people that Jesus, at least His human nature, may have considered a thorn in His side.  Note that...

I have had the privilege of being in the Holy Land twice. There is a place there that has been recently excavated on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and that place is Magdala. A shrine and conference center has been built there, and it is an amazing place to visit. One of the Chapels has a large mural of a large number of feet, with one hand reaching to touch the tassels of the cloak of someone w...